Top 5 Wednesday: Favourite Character Tropes

There are certain reoccurring characteristics that we love coming across in fiction. This week on Top Five Wednesday, Chelsey and I talk about our top five favourite character tropes. Whether these tropes dictate a character’s occupation or a personality trait, these are the things that endear us to them and keep us coming back for more.

Tropes are tropes for a reason right?

This was a really fun list to put together and it also gave me a reason to spend some time on one of my most favourite websites on the internet: TV Tropes. It is a dangerous place, where it is easy to get lost.

Top Five Wednesday is a book tag started by GingerReadsLainey. Join the goodreads group to get each week’s topic and participate yourselves!

5. THE INAPPROPRIATE GRANDMA

This is the Grandmother who speaks her mind even when it’s inappropriate. She’s a little crazy, but in a good way. The closest trope on TV tropes I can find that encompasses this is the Screw Politeness, I’m a Senior! trope.

There is this one series of novels that Chelsey has been following for a while called the Cajun series. The grandmother character Tante Lulu best represents this trope. She’s a five-foot-nothing little old lady who will walk around in the most outrageous outfits (think the Madonna cone bra). She loves to match make and talks about the thunder when two people first meet. Her grand children have to keep her in check and make sure that she doesn’t go too crazy.

Chelsey talks about the fifth book in the Cajun series Pearl Jinx in a blog post which can be read here.

4. THE CHARMING THIEF

The Charming Thief can any combination of combination of the Loveable Rogue, The Gentleman Thief and the Magnificent Bastard tropes. This trope is my kryptonite. Once one of these characters shows up, I’m invested. I started reading A Darker Shade of Magic and was introduced to Lila and I was sold. I’m going to blame my attachment to this character trope on David Eddings, specifically Silk from The Belgariad and The Malloreon. Silk always had the best lines and no matter what happened or what horror the heroes were facing, Silk was there spouting the wittiest one liners. It changed my life.

3. THE PSYCHIC/TRICKSTER TWINS

This trope is a combination of the trickster twins, the creepy twins and the single-minded twins. These characters have a psychic link that keeps them on the same page. They know what the other is thinking and can finish each other’s sentences. They work best when they are together. The bond between these characters is so beyond what you can imagine of what it would be like to be in sync with another person. You can play these characters so many ways. They can be creepy, they can be tricksters or they can just be straight up psychic. Some examples include: the twins like Fred and George from Harry Potter, twins in Ouran High School Host Club or even Calo and Galdo from The Gentlemen Bastards.

2. THE LOVEABLE BEEFCAKE

The Loveable beefcake is a combination of the dumb muscle, and the big guy and tropes. These beefcake characters aren’t necessarily stupid. They’re your party’s heavy hitter. Think Lor from The Fever Series or Jayne from Firefly.

1. THE SMART PSYCHOPATH

This is a trope that’s everywhere now. The whole “smartest guy in the room thing” has taken off with characters like Sherlock Holmes in BBC’s Sherlock and Luther from Luther. These characters don’t necessarily have to be psychopaths, they can just be Diabolical Masterminds or anti-heroes. I’ve always liked the characters that are wicked smart and take justice (or world domination) into their own hands. What can I say… I clearly have a type?

Everyone has their favourite tropes, they help us choose what books we want to read and what movies we want to watch. If you know you love a certain kind of character, it serves as an entrance into that world and their story. Yes, tropes can get repetative, but as long as you use them in moderation, everything will be alright.

What are your favourite tropes? Tell us about them in the comments below. Until next time. Happy reading!

Also be careful if you follow all the TV Tropes links I’ve posted through out this article. TV Tropes is a black hole that will steal all your free time. Trust me, it took me way too long to write this post. I spent the majority of my time reading about random topics like Eldritch Abominations and Nordic Noir. If you choose to not head this warning, whatever you do. DO NOT CLICK ON THE RANDOM TROPE BUTTON! SAVE YOURSELVES!

Alexandra is always looking for the next book she can devour. She has a love hate relationship with teen fiction specifically when it comes to fantasy, post apocalyptic and failed shakespeare adaptations.